Singapore jails ex-top civil servant in sex-for-favours case

Former top civil servant Peter Lim (L) arrives with his lawyer at the Subordinate courts in Singapore, on June 13, 2013. Lim was jailed for six months for receiving oral sex from a female executive of a supplier company in return for business favours

A former senior Singapore civil servant was jailed for six months on Thursday for receiving oral sex from a female executive of a supplier company in return for business favours.

Peter Lim, former chief of the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF), had tarnished the reputation of the city-state's public service by engaging in corrupt behaviour, district judge Hamidah Ibrahim ruled.

The judge rejected defence pleas for Lim to be given a stiff fine or a short custodial sentence and said "an uncompromising stance must be taken against all corruption offenders regardless of their standing".

"The rigorous and relentless upholding of exacting ethical standards is the price for Singapore's successful management of corruption," the judge added.

She also highlighted Lim's position as the highest-ranking officer in Singapore's emergency response agency and the damage done to the public service.

"I found it totally unacceptable that instead of upholding the trust reposed in him, the accused had engaged in corrupt behaviour that brought disrepute to the high office he held," the judge said.

"With every public servant's fall from grace, the confidence in the public service is affected, and that is a fact which I could not ignore."